Ch. 14 Talent Bloom
by AfuhfuihgsChapter 14 – Talent Bloom
The items dropped by the final boss of the dungeon, were of three types: a piece of armor for warriors, a ring exclusive to mages, and a necklace for clerics.
[Faith Without Form]
- Level Requirement: 10
- Class Restriction: Cleric
- Mana Regeneration per Second: +2
- Healing Power: +10
The crudely made necklace, crafted from bones and leather, gave off an unsettling vibe. Despite its eerie appearance, its stats were too good to pass up, so I equipped it.
Exiting the dungeon, I looked up at the sky. The once pitch-black sky was now tinged with a faint blue hue. Dawn was approaching.
Given the time, the dungeon entrance was now deserted. The crowds of players had vanished, and the merchants’ stalls were nowhere to be seen.
The streets before sunrise were eerily quiet.
On the long walk back from the dungeon to the metropolis of Foxtail, my gaze remained fixed on the corner of my skill window, unable to look away.
[Hypocrisy]
A skill with no description, just its name.
Hypocrisy. Literally meaning “false virtue.” It’s a word often used to describe those who pretend to be good while hiding dark intentions.
Given its negative connotation, the skill didn’t seem particularly appealing.
“Good work today!”
“Great job!”
“See you next time!”
Upon returning to Foxtail, the party naturally disbanded. Some headed straight to the inn to sleep, while others went to shops to sell the miscellaneous items they’d acquired in the dungeon.
Isolin and I were among those heading to the inn.
“Hey, Isolin.”
“Yeah?”
The cool dawn breeze gently ruffled Isolin’s pink hair. The small girl turned to me, her cheeks slightly flushed.
“Have you recently acquired any special skills?”
“Special skills?”
“Yeah. Ones you can’t learn from class NPCs.”
“Hmm. No? Why, did you learn something, Supreme?”
I shook my head lightly at her question. It seemed best to keep quiet about the skill until I had more concrete information.
After all, the skill’s name was Hypocrisy. I wasn’t sure how Isolin would react to that.
“I overheard someone talking about it. They said some people have been getting special skills. I didn’t catch what kind, though.”
“Hmm. It’s an RPG, after all. There could be hidden elements like that.”
Arriving at the inn, Isolin stretched her small body with a big yawn. She looked exhausted.
“Well, I’m off to bed~”
“Okay.”
As Isolin’s small figure disappeared up the stairs to the second floor, I turned my gaze to the distance. Beyond the hills of Foxtail, the bright sun was beginning to rise.
The start of a new day. The time when players began their activities in earnest.
Places where people gathered were also places where information gathered. After loosening up my body, I dashed toward the quest board.
Clop-clop—!
When the system message had given me the Hypocrisy skill, it had also mentioned “Talent Bloom.”
Talent Bloom. It implied that my abilities had advanced. Progress, evolution, improvement. Short words flashed through my mind.
Perhaps the condition for Talent Bloom wasn’t just clearing a dungeon. If everyone who cleared the dungeon had received the skill, rumors about Talent Bloom would have spread throughout the city.
“Hey! Good morning!”
“Ah, good morning.”
“Have you ever acquired a skill outside of your class skills?”
“No…”
I stopped high-level players with good gear and asked them questions. But as expected, I didn’t get the answers I was hoping for.
Though I hadn’t slept, my body was still full of energy. Back in the real world, pulling an all-nighter would have left me completely drained. This was a strange feeling.
To be so alert without sleep.
I ran around even more vigorously, searching everywhere.
After some time, while running around the central square of Foxtail, I spotted a warrior in a dark robe.
He was feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons, and his slightly exposed hand had a deep purple hue, like a grape.
[Level 20]
[Neukmam]
What kind of life was he living to already be level 20? As I stared at his level in awe, his gaze met mine from under his robe.
The moment our eyes met, his grotesque appearance flashed in my mind, and my body stiffened instinctively. But that would be rude. I forced a smile and waved at Neukmam—Han Chanseong.
Neukmam simply nodded slightly in response.
After exchanging brief greetings, I was about to run off when I realized something. A high-level player with good gear. He was right here.
I changed direction and dashed toward Han Chanseong.
Clop-clop—!
As I arrived beside him, the pigeons he’d been feeding fluttered into the sky. The faint disappointment on his face was visible as the pigeons flew away.
“Hey, Han Chanseong!”
“Ah, Supreme. You remembered my name.”
His voice was clear and steady. Han Chanseong adjusted his robe as he replied.
“What brings you here? Looking for a party?”
I shook my head at the hopeful tone in his voice. He nodded, as if he’d expected that, and let out a small chuckle.
“It’s not that I don’t want to party. It’s just that I just got back from the dungeon.”
“I see.”
Han Chanseong began tearing off pieces of bread and eating them—the same bread he’d been feeding the pigeons.
Watching him silently, I cautiously asked:
“Hey, by any chance… have you acquired any skills outside of your class skills?”
He froze.
Han Chanseong clearly reacted to my question. At the very least, he seemed to understand what I was asking.
I looked up at him with anticipation.
“Did you… get one too?”
His voice trembled slightly. He’d been relatively relaxed with me before, but now he seemed on guard.
It seemed he wouldn’t answer unless I was honest. I nodded and replied:
“Yes. I got one. Along with a message about Talent Bloom.”
At my answer, Han Chanseong’s movements became more animated. He took a deep breath and turned to face me more directly. It seemed he, too, had acquired a strange skill along with the Talent Bloom message.
He asked me more quickly now:
“There was no skill description, right?”
“Right.”
“And you couldn’t activate it.”
“Right.”
“Where did you get it?”
“I got it after clearing the dungeon.”
“Hmm…”
“You must have gotten yours at a different time, then?”
“Yes, I got mine in the starting village.”
The location and timing were different. It was unlikely we’d acquired the same skill under completely different conditions. The Talent Bloom skills Han Chanseong and I had were clearly different.
“Can you tell me the name of the skill you acquired?”
“…”
Han Chanseong fell silent. After hesitating for a while, he asked me the same question.
“What about you?”
I, too, found it difficult to answer. The negative connotations of the word Hypocrisy made me hesitant.
“It seems you find it hard to answer.”
The wariness in Han Chanseong’s voice faded. He continued in a more friendly tone:
“I understand. Mine’s also a bit hard to talk about… With how I look already, if I told people about it, the negative image would only get worse.”
Having acquired the Hypocrisy skill myself, I could roughly imagine the circumstances under which Han Chanseong had gotten his Talent Bloom skill.
If he’d acquired a skill with such a negative image, the events surrounding it must have been equally unpleasant.
“Well, I’ll be going now.”
“Ah, okay.”
Han Chanseong stood up and quickly left the square. His retreating footsteps seemed oddly light.
Talent Bloom.
Could it only grant negative skills?
Probably not.
I didn’t give up and continued searching Foxtail. As a result, I found another person who had acquired a Talent Bloom skill.
[Level 12]
[Pacheonmaje]
“Haaah!”
A level 12 warrior, Pacheonmaje. He was a player deeply immersed in role-playing. He acted out his created persona, “Pacheonmaje,” and trained in swordsmanship every single day.
(Tl: Pacheonmaje – wuxia novel mc name )
The Talent Bloom skill he had acquired was called Effort
Vrslop_translator
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